I have been using mercury tune spray for carbon and I have thought for sometime now that it cleans out the copper aswell so did a little test before going away on a prize shoot on the weekend.I soaked a HBC in the mercury tune up spray before leaving and came home to this hope picture works.

Cheers Trev.

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I don't think the ordinary engine cleaners work as well as the outboard ones do. That has been my experience with them. Tried a lot of those when G.M Engine top clean was stopped being sold. Once I got hold of outboard cleaners I had something that worked again. Yes I found that the carbon coming out had a greeny-blue tint to it, so it definitely removes some copper, but I still follow up with Sweets.Cheers.Trevor,

Old Trev-39 wrote:I don't think the ordinary engine cleaners work as well as the outboard ones do. That has been my experience with them. Tried a lot of those when G.M Engine top clean was stopped being sold. Once I got hold of outboard cleaners I had something that worked again. Yes I found that the carbon coming out had a greeny-blue tint to it, so it definitely removes some copper, but I still follow up with Sweets.Cheers.Trevor,

I do follow up with solvent sweets,hoppes benchrest,and others and get no copper but my barrels dont copper up much only if sharing at a shoot.

Just wondering if some of your more experienced shooters could share how you actually clean your barrels with these engine cleaners. Just things like what type of brushes, do you spray the cleaner directly into the barrel or soak the brush or patch. Thanks for any advice

Usually start with Hoppes benchrest on a nylon brush to soak and loosen up the fresh powder residue. Let soak for a couple minutes then more on a bronze brush giving half a dozen passes then patch out. Check to see what is in the barrel, depending on barrel age and condition and number of shots since being cleaned they may have some copper, but will always start to have some build up of carbon starting to happen. If the copper is showing on top of the carbon in the throat area Sweets applied on a nylon brush and left for ten to fifteen minutes before adding a little more and working several strokes with a bronze brush and then patching out will usually see an end to that. Most times there will still be carbon left after that and that is where the engine cleaners/carbon cleaners really show their worth. A little soak time helps here as well after spraying on to a nylon brush to get them in the barrel with a couple of strokes. A bit more sprayed on to a bronze brush and then worked several times through the bore will usually get rid of all the carbon once patched out. The barrel should then look clean and shiny. This works for barrels that have been previously cleaned properly and not allowed to get fouled with hard carbon and copper in the throat area. Unfortunately the average barrel that is supposedly clean has got hard carbon and copper fouling usually in the first few inches and no carbon remover will dissolve hard carbon once it is baked up in layers. It strips chunks of copper off the projectiles and turns into a very difficult amalgamation of copper and hard ceramic like carbon to have to remove. Polish, paste and abrasion and a lot of hard work is the only way to remove it, not always successfully. Everyone has their own ideas of how to clean barrels and what products work. Bore scope evidence and trying lots of products has clearly shown me that nothing works as well as Sweets on copper and the automotive/marine engine carbon cleaning products are that far in front of the gun products for the same purpose that it is a no contest. Most important thing with cleaning is don't let the carbon build up and start going hard in the first place.Regards Malcolm.

The best I have found so far as carbon goes is citric acid but dosnt remove any copper and requires barrel removal not an issue for most.I like the mercury tune it seems to do both as far as I can see with a borescope.

Nude nut wrote:The best I have found so far as carbon goes is citric acid but dosnt remove any copper and requires barrel removal not an issue for most.I like the mercury tune it seems to do both as far as I can see with a borescope.

Cheers Trev.

I would be very cautious with the use of citric acid in any barrel. The ph level of anything put in a match barrel should be kept as near to O as possible. Strong acids or strong alkaline solutions can microscopically etch the bore surface, this will increase copper deposits. I am a big fan of Mercury Power Tune having used it for many years.Keith H.

Nude nut wrote:The best I have found so far as carbon goes is citric acid but dosnt remove any copper and requires barrel removal not an issue for most.I like the mercury tune it seems to do both as far as I can see with a borescope.

Cheers Trev.

I would be very cautious with the use of citric acid in any barrel. The ph level of anything put in a match barrel should be kept as near to O as possible. Strong acids or strong alkaline solutions can microscopically etch the bore surface, this will increase copper deposits. I am a big fan of Mercury Power Tune having used it for many years.Keith H.

Have not seen any issues bores are nice and shiny they also dont seem to copper up much but in saying that Im talking a mild solution with boiling water and a good rinse and dry then ballistol.